


Poster Boys

by Cantatrice18



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Missing Scene, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-03
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-16 00:38:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2249412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cantatrice18/pseuds/Cantatrice18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After firing Steve Joyce and Mark Brookline for what they did to Ainsley, Sam decides he needs to make up for the way he and the others treated Ainsley when she first arrived. He enlists Josh's help to put up the decorations outside her office, and then waits for her to arrive.</p><p>Missing scenes from the 2x5 episode "And it's surely to their credit".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poster Boys

“Flowers, Josh, dead flowers.”

“I know, you’ve said,” replied Josh. “Is she going to sue us?”

“No, of course not. Though you have to admit, she’d be well within her legal rights to do so.”

“Well, thank God she hasn’t decided to tell the press, or CJ would be doing damage control for weeks.”

Sam shook his head. “It isn’t about that. It isn’t about Joyce or Brookline, or even about the flowers really. It’s how she’s been treated from the moment she walked in the door. I have to admit, I wasn’t crazy about her working here. I don’t think any of us were. But acting like she’s an enemy agent is amateur.” He paused, seeing Josh’s knowing smile. “I’m not saying I agree with her, or even that I like her. I still think she’s a, you know…”

“Republican?” Josh shrugged. “Yeah, that part isn’t going away, I’m afraid.”

“No. Pity. But that doesn’t mean she has to be treated with so much hostility. I think it’s time that we reached out to her, made her feel, I don’t know, more comfortable somehow.”

“Any ideas?” Josh asked.

“Well, I have one, but it’ll take your help, and CJ and Toby’s too if I can get them.”

“We have the NEA budget cuts to review, not to mention the UN speech, so we’d better get started.”

“You’ll help, then?” Sam could not disguise his relief.

“Of course I’ll help.” Josh smiled contentedly. “She may be a right-wing nutjob, but she’s, you know, our right-wing nutjob.”

…

Sam affixed the final poster to the brick wall outside Ainsley’s office, taking a step back to check if it was level. “That should do it.”

“Looks good to me.” Josh was leaning against the office door, admiring their handiwork. “Where the hell did you get all of these?”

Sam’s smile was almost smug. “I wasn’t the recording secretary in the Princeton Gilbert and Sullivan Society for nothing. I’ve had these in my closet for ages. I’m glad they’ll finally be put to good use.”

“You know, sometimes I’m surprised you managed to get any dates in college.”

“Don’t underestimate the seductive power of a man who feels a sense of duty.” Sam glanced at his watch. “She’ll be in around eight, I’m guessing. I’m going to have security alert me when she gets here. In the meantime, let’s resume our discussion about the Southern Poverty Law Center.”

“If you insist,” Josh replied glumly, following Sam up the stairs and back to the ground floor. 

…

As the four senior staffers waited in the darkened office for Ainsley to arrive, Sam couldn’t help thinking back to the way Ainsley had calmly begged him to leave her alone. He wished he knew just what Joyce and Brookline had said to her, but he had a feeling he was better off not knowing. Just seeing the physical evidence of their harassment in the form of dead flowers was bad enough. If he’d witnessed their meeting with Ainsley, he might not have been able to stop himself from punching both men as hard as he could manage. 

There was a noise in the hallway, and he quickly put a finger to his lips. He leaned in until his ear was pressed up against the door. “Hello?” he heard a now-familiar voice call. She sounded uneasy, and he couldn’t blame her, not after what she’d been through. _Turn on the light _, he thought loudly, as though Ainsley could hear him. A moment later the fluorescent bulbs in the hallway blazed to life, and he motioned for CJ to start the music. When Ainsley finally opened the door to her office, looking bewildered, Sam couldn’t keep from grinning like a schoolboy. He and the others sang along with the final phrase, then gathered around Ainsley so that CJ, Josh, and Toby could be introduced properly. The gratitude in Ainsley’s eyes as she thanked him made all the trouble Sam had gone to seem absolutely worth it. He might never come to terms with her politics, but at least he’d found the grace to welcome her properly. As he’d told Joyce and Brookline when he’d confronted them about their harassment, Ainsley worked at the White House now, which made her a part of the team, politics or not. He had the strangest feeling, as he watched her talking animatedly to CJ, that they would all someday be very glad Ainsley had decided to work with them. As he reached for the coffee cup he’d all-but-abandoned earlier, a tiny part of him said that he was glad already, and that he wouldn’t wish Ainsley away for all the electoral votes in the country.__


End file.
